Cover Story
Welcome to Sweet Treat Summer
Don’t let society’s renewed obsession with thinness – or the Republican financial “experts” who insist millennials’ avocado toast and Gen Z’s iced coffee are to blame for our ever-dwindling monetary independence – fool you. A little ice cream every now and again isn’t going to make you fat (and if it does, who cares), and…
News
Texas GOP Hopes to Ban IVF, Surrogacy in Next Year’s Legislative Session
The Texas Fertility Center, where Kaylen Silverberg practices in vitro fertilization, or IVF, has been responsible for an average of four babies born in Austin every day, he said. IVF is often an expensive, last-resort procedure to help people who struggle with infertility, or otherwise cannot have children naturally, become pregnant. The process usually involves…
A Year Since Its Launch, Delays and Disorder Loom Over Austin’s Creative Department
Valentine’s Day, 2025, Austin’s artists and venues got a gift from the city: an announcement of the formation of ACME, the Office of Arts, Culture, Music, and Entertainment, bringing most elements of governance relating to the creative industries into a one-stop shop. A year later, the question is whether it was the gift that kept…
The Week’s Biggest News in Brief: July 9 – 15
$6.6 Billion Proposed Budget: Austin City Manager T.C. Broadnax released his proposed 2026-27 budget last Friday, July 10, outlining departments and services that will see spending increases and those that will take on cuts. The city’s first responders would all see increases, as the Austin Police Department’s budget would increase by $24 million, putting the…
What Austin Is Prioritizing in Its Proposed $6.6 Billion Budget
For City Council members, it’s the worst time of the year – budget season! Council will be hashing out the city’s 2026-27 spending plan over the next month, deciding whether to bump up the Austin Police Department’s budget and cut social services. City Manager T.C. Broadnax got the ball rolling last Friday, unveiling a $6.6…
Taxpayers on the Hook for Bridge to Tesla Gigafactory in Proposed Plan for Dog’s Head Development
Some Austinites have wondered in recent weeks if there is a connection between the rushed, controversial Dog’s Head land development deal that city leaders agreed to back in May and the city’s most prominent, yet roundly despised, businessman – Elon Musk. After all, the Tesla Gigafactory lies directly across the Colorado River from Dog’s Head.…
Music
Your Live Music Fund FAQs, Answered
$6 million is on the table for musicians, independent promoters, and live music venues this summer through ACME’s 2027 Live Music Fund. $5,000 and $20,000 grants are available to artists and promoters, with the higher amount requiring an additional application section – Music Industry Accomplishments – and a higher overall score. Say what you will (and…
Music Notes
BARTLY Friday 17, Pershing Hall Earlier this year, Texas State alum BARTLY impressed American Idol judges with his rendition of Khruangbin & Leon Bridges’ “Texas Sun.” He released his soulful second EP, MR. NOBODY, last Friday. He celebrates his new five-song project this Friday at the Pershing with support from Seth Celdrán. Angel White &…
Arts + Culture
Escaping Grief Through Pole Dancing
Growing up, my best friend’s mom was obsessed with escapist reads. I have countless sun-drenched memories of my bracelet-claimed BFF and I in our tankinis playing at the community pool while her mom – eternally put together and clad in classy shades – lounged with her new book. Reading this Thelma & Louise-hearted murder mystery,…
Texas French Bread Debuts a Fresh Face, Olamaie Bids Farewell, and Austin Roots for Emmy Award Hopeful
Texas French Bread reopened its charming brick-and-mortar dining room last week. In 2022, the bistro and bakery’s historic Rio Grande building suffered a devastating fire, pushing its scratch-made baked goods to a lot next door, where staff served limited items and coffee from an Airstream. After many years of thoughtful rebuilding and restoration, the beige…
One Ounce Opera Breaks Down Baroque Barriers
Opera is, perhaps, inherently progressive, although historically the art form has had a reputation for its sky-highbrow sensibilities. La bohème examines poverty; Carmen follows a complex feminist character; and Tosca, now beloved as a campy tragedy, examines political corruption. Despite progressive themes, however, operas are told largely from a male gaze and lack significant diverse…
For These Black Artists, “Home Is Where the Art Is”
Home is found in red Solo cups on canvas, ornate wallpaper, chipped religious iconography, and overgrown backyards in Northern-Southern’s “Home Is Where the Art Is.” Co-curated by multi-hyphenates Mueni Loko Rudd, an independent curator who teaches at Huston-Tillotson University, and Keyheira Keys, an art entrepreneur known for shepherding the “We Rise” mural on East 12th,…
Screens
The Odyssey Review: An Epic Both Ancient and Modern
Why does a filmmaker tell the same story twice? I guess that only Christopher Nolan himself could explain what artistic instinct drew him from the tale of the father of the atomic bomb to the warrior who built the Trojan Horse. Yet The Odyssey undoubtedly serves as an unexpected companion piece to Oppenheimer. Both films…
Food
Fast Freeze
We’ve officially reached the time of year where going outside puts everyone in a bad mood. It’s 100 degrees and the UV is at a 10, and yet good old-fashioned dry heat feels like a thing of the past. In Austin’s muggy new reality, our limbs might as well read “MOSQUITO BUFFET,” and leaving the…
What Happened to the Ice Cream Man?
“Wait!” In the rearview mirror of Danny’s Ice Cream Truck, a blur of neon and floppy brown hair is frantically waving his arms. Over the tinkling jingle, we can practically hear the kid’s bare feet thumping the pavement, legs pumping as fast as possible, in a furious race to catch up. Riding along with owner…
Sit-down Sweets
Somewhere on our way to adulthood, we lost touch with the simple joy of a frozen treat – especially that euphoric race against the clock before it melts down your forearm. Fortunately, Austin pastry chefs are bringing the fun back to the freezer, giving high-end glow-ups to childhood favorites. Whether it’s a handmade Choco Taco…
Churning Points
Like many native Austinites my age, I have a vivid childhood memory of eating Amy’s Mexican Vanilla with Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups smashed into the cup while playing on the Arboretum’s concrete cows. It’s an indelible snapshot – and probably the reason ice cream remains my favorite dessert to this day. Watching employees throw scoops…
Paleterías Bring Flavors of Home to Austin’s Ice Cream Scene
When Carlos Nuñez opened the doors of his brick-and-mortar, Las Delicias Paletería, off Highway 183 more than a decade ago, he didn’t know of any other paleterías – ice cream shops (las neverías) that specifically sell paletas, or ice pop bars – in Austin. “Mexican ones, you understand,” Nuñez told me in Spanish. “There’s a…
Columns
Mr. Smarty Pants Knows
The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operation in the state of Maine is called “Operation Catch of the Day.” A 1,000-piece jigsaw puzzle typically has 12-13% edge pieces. William George Spencer Cavendish, 6th Duke of Devonshire, styled Marquess of Hartington, also known as the “Bachelor Duke,” was a keen horticulturist who established the Royal…
The Luv Doc: The Romance Scene in Austin
Dear Luv Doc, I don’t know what to make of the romance scene in Austin. I’m on the apps, despite my steady reluctance, and I’m getting matches but conversations are challenging and I don’t get why everyone feels the need to text first, meet up later. I can understand that some of us are getting…
Day Trips: Texas Heroes Monument, Galveston
The Texas Heroes Monument has welcomed visitors to Galveston since it was unveiled on San Jacinto Day on April 21, 1900. It is one of the state’s most familiar pieces of public art. The 74-foot-tall bronze and granite monument honors the heroes of the Texas Revolution. In all, 17 men associated with the war for…
Feedback: July 17, 2026
Global Instability Dear Editor, Too often, we treat foreign policy as something that happens “over there” and has little relevance to life here in Austin. But the reality is that decisions made in Washington about international crises and aid often come back to affect communities in ways we don’t immediately recognize. The ongoing conflict in…
World Cup Delivers Unprecedented Semifinal as MLS Set for Return
After more than 100 games across three countries over the past five weeks, it’s finally time to crown a champion at the 2026 FIFA World Cup. It will be a deserving champion, that much we know. For the first time since FIFA began ranking national teams in 1992, each of the four highest-ranked teams qualified…
Qmmunity: Hot Gay Summer
To whom it definitely concerns, hot gay summer continues apace despite evil outside forces’ best attempts. Yeah, I mean, the horrors continue – homophobia and transphobia growing like weeds through society’s sidewalk cracks, making navigation harder and tripping and chipping a tooth a definite possibility. But most LGBTQ folks I know wear big-ass boots and heels,…
Fun + Games
Free Will Astrology
CANCER (June 21-July 22): Make a list of your five greatest pleasures. These are experiences that stir your senses, steady your pulse, and remind you why you love being alive. Write them down as if they were sacred prayers. Sing a spontaneous song of praise of them. Then set out on a quest to discover…
